As a young Catholic, Nic is drawn to the intersection between their church and environmental stewardship, and was inspired by Pope Francis’s 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si: On Care for Our Common Home. “Our moral call to protect the common good (and not the profits of a selfish few) is clear in the Pope’s call to action,” says Nic. When Catholic groups came on board to support the lawsuit, they wanted to “thank God for their support in our fight to save our Nation’s climate.” 

Where they live in Colorado, Nic enjoys fishing, but due to wildfires and variable water flows from droughts and floods, they have not been able to go fishing for the past three years. Nic and their family grow some of their own food, but hail, rainstorms, drought, and pests have ruined their garden for several years.